36 Views of Sutro Tower (Love Letter to the City and the Bay)
A photographic series inspired by Katsushika Hokusai, my love for prominent landmarks, and my time living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
This series debuted at the Bay Area Contemporary Art Show on May 5th, 2023 but work on it began as soon as I moved to the Bay Area in 2017 after growing up in the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley.
Ever since I was a young boy I was fascinated by landmarks. The valley was the backyard of Hollywood and the Hollywood sign was like the front entrance. It was captivating to watch any time I made the trip over the hill to visit my family that lived in the working-class area of Hollywood by Gower. We also took periodic trips to Santa Monica Beach, a place replete with its own set of landmarks on the pier and off. Other trips that we got to make every summer was to Zacatecas. My family itself is from Zacatecas City. A city known for its baroque colonial historic center. It was a center of silver mining as well as the site of a strategic battle during the Mexican Revolution. Zacatecas’ most well-known natural landmark, El Cerro de la Bufa is the reason for its strategic importance. This rock formation towers over the city. It is the first thing I looked for when we made the drive down from the United States. The oblong rock formation is flanked by a fort, church, and teleferic station which connected the hill to the famous Eden mine (Mina El Eden). My childhood naivete made me think that every city in the world had its own huge landmark.
In 2017, I got accepted into the History program at San Francisco State University. My prior connection to the Bay Area came through my periodic visits to my uncle’s house in Richmond. The Golden Gate Bridge to me was always its most fascinating. It was not until I moved to the Bay Area that I noticed Sutro Tower as well. It honestly surprised me how large this structure was, for its presence did not seem to demand the same level of cultural impact like the Golden Gate Bridge made. I began taking my first landscape photographs of the city from the Point Richmond coastline and the El Cerrito Foothills with the idea in mind of focusing on this tower.
The art history course I took at College of the Canyons in 2016 introduced me to the work of Katsushika Hokusai. Hokusai was a ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period. His woodblock series 36 Views of Mount Fuji, made an imprint on my mind since then. His series not only focused on Mount Fuji but the surrounding countryside.The People featured were typically shown working on their daily living tasks. They were depicted as relatively small figures compared to the prominence of the volcano.
Edge of SOMA, Mission and Van Ness. Yashica MG-1. 2018.
Beach Day on Mars (Ocean Beach at Judah). Canon 1Ds MKII. 2021.
From Lafayette Park. Canon 5Ds MKII. 2023.
Edge of McLaren Park. Canon AE-1 Program. 2020. (Sold)
For the Love of the Town. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023. (Sold)
Masonic Bike Path. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023. (Sold)
Looking West From McKinley Square. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023. (Sold)
View from Adams Point, Oakland. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023. (Sold)
Geary and 11th. Ave looking Southeast. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023
Hiker resting at Glenn Canyon. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
Harrison St. with Sutro and Twin Peaks. Canon 1Ds MKII. 2018.
From the Water, looking past Fort Mason. Yashica MG-1. Circa 2017-2018.
Solidarity for George Floyd in Dolores Park. Canon 1Ds MKII. June 3, 2020.
View from the Conservatory of Flowers in the Morning. Canon 5Ds MKII. 2022.
Mission High School. Yashica MG-1. Circa 2017-2018.
From El Cerrito at Golden Hour. Canon 1Ds MKII. 2017.
Sutro Moonrise (Looking East from Ocean Beach). iPhone XR. 2022.
Point Richmond View Double Exposure with Rain in Daly City. Yashica MG-1. Circa 2017-2018.
Photoshoot at the street hockey courts at sunset. Yashica MG-1. 2019.
Golden Gate Baseball Fields. Yashica MG-1. 2018.
Quintara looking East. Kodak KB 28 35mm Film Camera. 2022.
Excelsior District looking West. Canon AE-1 Program. Circa 2020-2021.
From 101. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
Volunteers setting up fixtures for the Cherry Blossom Festival, Japantown. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
Geary from Argüello. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
From Buenavista. Yashica MG-1. 2018.
From the Dolores Basketball Courts in the Morning. Kodak KB28. 2022.
From Legion of Honor. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
From the TL. Yashica MG-1. 2018.
Westside of the Peninsula. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
The Cameraguy at Oceanview. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
Irving & 22nd. Kodak KB28. 2022.
Geary on Saint Patrick’s Day. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
A nod to my hometown the 818, Looking Southeast at Golden Gate Park. Yashica MG-1. 2018.
Looking West from Deep in the Mission. Kodak KB28. 2022.
From Ashton St and Garfield, Ingleside. Canon 5ds MKII. 2023.
